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Another Orthodox priest killed in Russia

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A Russian Orthodox priest has been killed in the Moscow Region south of the Russian capital, and two suspects have been detained, police said.

A Russian Orthodox priest has been killed in the Moscow Region south of the Russian capital, and two suspects have been detained, police said.

Father Alexander Filippov, 39, senior priest of the Ascension church in the Satino-Russkoye village, was killed late Tuesday in the entrance to the apartment block he lived in. He reportedly reproached the two men for relieving themselves in the street.

"Police officers detained two suspected killers promptly. The suspects are a resident of the town of Podolsk born in 1974 and a resident of Vladimir born in 1981," Moscow Region police spokesman Yevgeny Gildeyev said.

"The men followed Filippov up, went into the entrance [to the apartment block] and shot him from a handgun," he said. An investigation is underway.

Archpriest Alexander was married with three daughters.

This was the second murder of a priest in Russia in the past few weeks. Father Daniil Sysoyev, 34, was shot dead in his St. Thomas church in southern Moscow by a masked gunman on November 19. He was known for his active missionary work in converting Muslims and people seeking to quit religious sects into Christianity.

"I believe the events of past months must make us think of the spiritual and moral situation we all live in," Russian Orthodox Church spokesman Vladimir Legoida said commenting on the latest murder.

The murder of Father Alexander, he said, is an example of how "senseless, inhuman spite terminates a person's life for no reason at all."

MOSCOW, December 23 (RIA Novosti)

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